Elfyn Evans Wins First WRC Title After Oliver Solberg Crashes on Final Stage
Five-time runner-up Elfyn Evans is world champion at last, after Oliver Solberg crashed within sight of the finish of the last stage in Sardinia.
What happened in Sardinia
Elfyn Evans is world champion for the first time, after title rival Oliver Solberg crashed in the closing moments of the season-ending Rally Italia Sardegna. Evans had finished second in the standings five times before.
Solberg needed only to beat Evans on the last of 17 stages to collect enough bonus points to take the title. According to the BBC, he was on course to win the stage and collect a maximum 35 points for the weekend, which would have won him the championship by two points.
Instead, he crashed two corners from the finish, less than 100 metres from the end. He still won the rally by almost a minute from nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier, but ended up five points short of Evans overall.
Saturday's build-up
The title fight was tight going into the final day. WRC.com reported after Saturday that Solberg led the rally by 33.6 seconds after Thierry Neuville crashed out of the lead. Evans was fifth overall and, on provisional standings, only six points clear of Solberg, with Sami Pajari a further six behind.
The BBC says Evans began the final round with a 21-point lead and that the gap shrank to a single point before the last stage. The two sources measure the gap at different moments, so the figures are not directly comparable.
Evans admitted after Saturday that his team would have to change strategy, saying the title was "still wide open".
Reaction
Evans, 37, from Dolgellau in north-west Wales, was stunned. "It hasn't sunk in," he said. "I was sure it was over. I feel for Oliver, he had an incredible weekend."
He added that it was "surreal with how it happened" and "a relief". He also said: "It wouldn't be my proudest way of winning it, but it's job done."
Solberg, 25, was inconsolable and stayed in his car for some time after the stage. Toyota Gazoo Racing team principal Jari-Matti Latvala and team-mate Ogier encouraged him to join the podium. His father, Petter, won the WRC title in 2003.
Also read F1 Results: Verstappen Wins Chaotic Bahrain GP in Malaysia as Antonelli Extends Lead
Historic moment for British rallying
Evans is only the third British man to win the WRC title, after Colin McRae in 1997 and Richard Burns in 2001. He and co-driver Scott Martin won two rallies in the 2026 season.
He had led for much of the year. He had also missed out on the title on the final day three times before, twice after taking a lead into the last rally, losing to Ogier in 2020 and 2025.
The season ran to 13 rounds after the Saudi Arabia event, planned for next month, was cancelled because of ongoing unrest in the Middle East. Pajari finished third in the standings, one point behind Solberg according to the BBC, after his own title bid faded on the last weekend.
Keep it in Saved stories on this device to read later.
